Dominated as it is by visionary images of the future and influenced by the ‘Responsible Research and Innovation’ (RRI) approach, the discourse about synthetic biology (SynBio) and the prospects for its application may be interpreted as an arena for argument about the future of our societies generally. At a time when the widespread end of the systemic conflict between capitalism and socialism has made it rare for the whole of society to engage in debates on fundamental political and socioeconomic issues, discourses on science and technology can apparently be used to add... mehrress questions of this kind indirectly. It is possible to clarify this function of SynBio discourse by setting it in its historical context, in which respect the focus is placed on older discourses about the societal significance of biology and its technological applications.